Tennessee regulator named to federal panel

March 9, 2016 -- Greg Gonzales, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions, has been appointed to the State Liaison Committee (SLC) of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), an umbrella group for federal financial regulators, including NCUA.

Gonzales was appointed to complete a partial term vacancy created by the resignation of Lauren Kingry.

The SLC consists of five representatives of state banking agencies that supervise financial institutions. Members are designated from NASCUS, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) the American Council of. State Savings Supervisors (ACSSS), and the Council.

"Greg Gonzales is a strong proponent of the state supervisory system—for both state banks and state credit unions. We are very pleased that he will be working with NASCUS' SLC appointee Mary Hughes and other SLC members, and we applaud the CSBS for its appointment of Greg," said Lucy Ito, NASCUS president and CEO.

Gonzales began serving as the 18th commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions in this role in 2005 and was reappointed by Governor Bill Haslam. He has served in the department since 1986. In this position, Gonzales serves as Tennessee’s chief regulatory officer of all state-chartered depository and licensed non-depository financial institutions. Additionally, he has served as assistant commissioner and general counsel for the department.

Gonzales joins the current four members of the SLC who are:

Mary Hughes, Financial Institutions Bureau Chief of the Idaho Department of Finance, appointed by the National Association of State Credit Union Supervisors (NASCUS);

SLC Chairman David Cotney, Commissioner of Banks for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, confirmed by the Council;

Caroline Jones, Commissioner of the Texas Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending, appointed by the American Council of State Savings Supervisors (ACSSS); and

Karen Lawson, Director, Office of Banking within the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services, confirmed by the Council.

The FFIEC prescribes uniform principles, standards and report forms for the federal examination of financial institutions, and makes recommendations to promote uniformity in the supervision of financial institutions. It also conducts schools for examiners employed by the five federal member agencies represented on the FFIEC and makes those schools available to employees of state agencies that supervise financial institutions.
The Council currently consists of six voting members: the Comptroller of the Currency, Office of Comptroller of the Currency; a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), appointed by the Chairman of the Board; Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; Chairman of the National Credit Union Administration; and the Chairman of the SLC.